


A Cooling Flame

by MysticBlade



Series: The Fire Deep Down [2]
Category: The Queen's Thief - Megan Whalen Turner
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, Tags Are Hard, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28635177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticBlade/pseuds/MysticBlade
Summary: The Second part of "The Fire Deep Down" Irene and Gen continue to sruggle to find intimacy and love each other. The Queen suffers an accident and Gen prepares to lose everything he has built. Set between QoA and KoA. Enjoy!
Relationships: Attolia | Irene/Eugenides, Relius/Teleus (Queen's Thief)
Series: The Fire Deep Down [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098242
Kudos: 8





	A Cooling Flame

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second part of this series. The first part is Frost Burns so if you haven't read that go read that. I don't write a lot of fanfiction so any comments with suggestions, support, love, or help would be greatly appreciated. Hope you like! Probably will be either two more chapters or one really long one.

The Queen of Attolia was sitting on her throne, her back straight and poised for action. The queen wished however she could slouch like her husband did, her back hurt from tensing up and she wished with all her might that her meeting would end so she could go to her rooms and contemplate her next move. This was unusual, especially considering the nature of the meeting. Teleus and Relius were standing in front of her both preparing to deliver their reports, a thing that Attolia usually paid the deepest attention too.

The Queen decided instead to put a contemplative look on her face and stare, with slightly unfocused eyes at the spot between Teleus and Relius. Relius was speaking first, and though Attolia was distracted she was not distracted enough to not notice the blush that appeared on Relius’s face when Teleus motioned him forward. Relius told her how her barons were angry about the king from Eddis and how Erondites and Susa seemed to be working closely together on something. Relius also told her about how one of her barons had recently provided wood for an infrastructure project. Attolia smiled at that, laughing on the inside as she thought about the pompous baron being threatened by her king. 

Relius continued his report, and Attolia used a technique she had perfected as a bored princess. She formed her face into one of utmost concentration and attentiveness and then slowly pushed the images of her imagination to the forefront of her eyes. As the Queen did this she saw Relius and Teleus fade away and were replaced with her dark bedroom. 

It was midnight, there was no clock but the Queen could just tell, she was omniscient in all her fantasies. For some reason all her night time fantasies were set at midnight, the time that in her mind was the most mysterious and alluring. The room was dark and the Queen felt a moment of dizziness as her point of view shifted and she found herself looking out of her own eyes. Her eyes adjusted and she looked at the pillow next to her. Her King lay there, and when she saw this her heart jumped in her chest. His dark hair was splayed out like spider legs, before Irene would have flinched at the image but now...his hair looked like woven strings of sugar calling her towards them. Irene reached her hand out and brushed her fingers through his hair, her hands softly dividing and parting, losing herself in the soft feeling of his locks. The Queen expected him to wake up screaming or at least flinch but instead she saw him lift himself up and stare at her smiling. 

His teeth were blinding in the darkness and Irene couldn’t look away. He laughed at her and she felt his hands around her waist and head pulling her close to him. Before she could even think how to react her head was tucked into his chest, his heartbeat a slow melody in her ears. The Queen stiffened, even in her fantasy she was unsure how to react, and she lay frozen for a moment. She felt the king wrap his arms tighter and she felt surrounded by a shield, the warmth was so reassuring, so...loving. The Queen melted into him, her hands circling his back. Her whole body loved the thing she had craved for for so long. His embrace.

The Queen twitched as her body tensed, the image fading away from her mind's eye, and she almost cried out as the safety of the Kings hug faded away, and she was flung back into her throne room.

“... and finally Costis Ormiendes performed well, so I’ve promoted him to squad leader and he should serve you well your majesty.” Teleus finished as he looked down at his paper making sure he hadn’t missed anything.

Teleus’s words registered in her ears as she felt prickling in her eyes. Confused as to what they were, Irene shook her head trying to dislodge the eyelash or dirt that had gotten in them. She was shocked as she watched tears fall from her eyes and splash onto her dress. She watched, feeling detached from her body as she felt her tears flow strongly now and fall one after the another down down down onto her dress. The Queen raised her head and willed them to go away, she could not let Relius or Teleus see her like this. They would’ve seen, for they both started to raise their heads to thank her when the throne room doors exploded open.

Her King strode through the door, that candy spun hair messy as he stood alone in the entryway to the throne room. Relius and Teleus turned startled and looked at the King, both expressions were riddled with disgust but both shifted to confusion as they realized the King’s attendants and guards were nowhere to be found.

The King had eyes for neither of them and his eyes were locked on The Queen’s.   
“My Queen..” he said hesitantly as he saw her tears. Attolia tried to right herself and respond with a head nod but inside her something broke. She felt a hand grab hers and she felt herself pulled away as her body collapsed, sliding down her throne.

Eugenides stood still as he watched his Queen fall from her throne and spill to the ground, her red dress surrounding her like blood leaking from a wound.

Three things happened at once. Teleus spun around and ran to the Queen and fell to his knees beside her. Relius had seen the Queen fall and before he even fully took in the Queen and the cause and extent of her injuries he threw himself at Eugenides. The King saw Relius’s face, contorted in pure anger as he grabbed his hands around the King’s lapels and threw himself at him, trying to force the king to the ground. The King’s face himself took on a look of pure fear and he staggered back and fell to the ground with Relius atop him. Teleus tackled Relius away and pushed him against the doorframe and shouted, “THE QUEEN IS ALIVE”.

Relius’s anger did not deplete but his hands stopped shaking and he leaned into Teleus, his anger easing up as he let himself be helped down to the ground by the Captain of the Guard. By the time Teleus had turned around the King was standing and staring at the Queen, his face horrified. He looked up at Teleus and Relius and his face set and was back to the impassive look he was so well known for in the court of Attolia.

“Get the physician and the ambassador.” the king whispered hoarsely as he too leaned against the doorframe across from Relius. The previously empty throne room was filled with guards and attendants as the Queen was whisked to her room where Petrus began his work. The night was long as the whole castle held its breath as Petrus looked more and more confused as to why the Queen was unconscious. The attendants and guards flew murderous looks at the King. The general assumption being he was responsible, and even Phresine who had liked the King was uncertain as to what to believe.

The King himself was silent. He sat in the waiting room directly outside the Queens rooms alone at a table. Ornon, the Eddisan ambassador, sat at a nearby table studying the King. Ornon shook his head and muttered to himself. He was no friend of the Thief of Eddis but he truly pitied the young King now. Ornon had offered no comfort, he had not sat by the Thief for he knew that Eugenides wanted to be alone. Ornon simply sat in the room, a friend if the King needed one. 

Ornon studied Eugenides’s stone cold face and he summoned up his courage and walked over. The Thief did not move as Ornon plopped down next to him and lay his hand on his shoulder.  
“Petrus says whatever the Queen is suffering it doesn’t seem deadly.” Ornon said as he stared into the corner of the room the Thief was staring into.

Eugenides turned his face and met Ornon’s eye.   
“But he does not know what it is?” Eugenides asked, even though he knew the answer.  
Ornon shook his head and stared into the King’s face. It took everything he could not to shudder and turn away. Ornon had seen Eugenides like this before. He knew this face. This was the face Eugenides had moments before his hand was cut off, this was his face when he learned he could possibly go blind, this was the face of a man who was preparing to lose everything. The Thief had suffered for so long, and now, only now, was the thief looking despondent as he prepared himself to lose the one thing he had paid so much to gain.

Ornon gulped and he said to the King, “It will be alright Eugenides.”

Eugenides looked up and his face was solemn, “Baaaa” The king muttered and the smallest smirk crossed his face.

Ornon left the waiting room.


End file.
